SEC | DUDEK CLAIMS EURO CROWN TO SEAL SPEEDWAY GP RETURN FOR 2026

Polish racer Patryk Dudek is back in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix line-up for 2026 after lifting the Speedway European Championship at Czech club Pardubice on Friday.

Dudek stormed to his third victory in four rounds, claiming the continental crown on 56 points overall, with 2024 champion Andzejs Lebedevs finishing second on 48, while another 2026 Speedway GP qualifier Leon Madsen bagged the bronze medal on 40.

But the night belonged to Dudek, who scored 11 points in his five heats, before racing to victory in the last-chance qualifier ahead of compatriot Kacper Woryna, Szymon Wozniak and Madsen.

Dudek then triumphed in the final ahead of Swedish international Timo Lahti in second, Lebedevs in third and Woryna in fourth place.

It was a delightful series for Dudek, who also won the two Polish rounds in Bydgoszcz and Leszno. He finished third at round two in Gustrow, Germany. 

SEC gold guarantees him a spot in the 2026 Speedway GP series – ending two seasons out of the line-up for a rider, who stormed to Speedway GP World Championship silver in his debut season in 2017, but has had to make do with wild-card appearances in the past two years.

Dudek is also guaranteed a spot in the 2026 SEC series after finishing in the top six, alongside Lebedevs, Madsen, Woryna in fourth place, SGP2 champion Nazar Parnitskyi in fifth and Danish champion Michael Jepsen Jensen, who claimed the sixth and final automatic qualification place.

FINAL SPEEDWAY EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Patryk Dudek 56
2. Andzejs Lebedevs 48
3. Leon Madsen 40
4. Kacper Woryna 39
5. Nazar Parnitskyi 37
6. Michael Jepsen Jensen 33
7. Szymon Wozniak 30
8. Timo Lahti 25
9. Dimitri Berge 24
10. Mateusz Cierniak 24
11. Tom Brennan 22
12. Przemyslaw Pawlicki 19
13. Vaclav Milik 16
14. Kai Huckenbeck 16
15. Norick Blodorn 15
16. Rasmus Jensen 14
17. Grzegorz Zengota 11
18. Piotr Pawlicki 9
19. Frederik Jakobsen 7
20. Marko Levishyn 7
21. David Bellego 7
22. Jan Kvech 3
23. Robert Chmiel 1

PARDUBICE SCORES: 1. Patryk Dudek 14, 2. Timo Lahti 14, 3. Andzejs Lebedevs 12, 4. Kacper Woryna 9, 5. Leon Madsen 10, 6. Szymon Wozniak 9, 7. Nazar Parnitskyi 9, 8. Vaclav Milik 9, 9. Przemyslaw Pawlicki 9, 10. Tom Brennan 7, 11. Mateusz Cierniak 6. 12. Michael Jepsen Jensen 6, 13. Dimitri Berge 4, 14. Jan Kvech 3, 15. Norick Blodorn 2, 16, Piotr Pawlicki 2.